Unburned
by Tyffix
Summary: She thought their deal would be easy. She didn't realize how complicated relationships could become or that your heart could long for them after years of ignoring them. After awhile she didn't see how she could escape without getting burned. Boruto era, KonohamaruOC, slow burn.
1. Prologue

Hello and welcome to my first Fanfic! This is simply a prologue to set up for later on. Timelines are skewed a little bit, this does follow cannon but some things are changed in my favor. This does take place during the Boruto era.

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Kakashi was a lot of things, but out here he had no title. Here he was another traveler, a nameless shinobi passing through a village that's name had long been forgotten to the great nations. Haven was on the outskirts of everything and had no ruling body. The only texts that you could find that even referenced the village made it sound more like an idea of a place than an actual standing structure. To be fair, it wasn't much of a village to begin with, as it only had an inn with three private rooms and a cellar full of bunk beds to accommodate the influx of travelers that came after the war, a very poorly lit bar, and a few scattered farm houses in the neighboring vicinity.

He had promised himself he would've made the journey out here some time ago, but being Hokage meant little time from the village, and the past few years with Naruto now taking that role meant he could finally do some of the things he wanted. After all, he was in a foreign village because of a rumor he had heard years ago, it was very possible he was chasing after nothing. When he had heard it, they were at war, and as time went on the urgency had died down just as the rumor had.

Now he sat in a bar watching a woman sip on her drink and lock eyes with the man across from her. She couldn't have been older than her early to mid twenties. She wore a short tight white dress, and her long straight black hair was perfectly tucked behind her ears before cascading down to the middle of her back. She was beautiful, he couldn't deny that, but the more he watched her he saw that every move had purpose. It was subtle, and something that would've been unnoticed even to a trained eye. She had the man in a genjutsu, and although he couldn't see her eyes he was almost positive of the sanguine color he would have found. The young girl from the rumors had grown up. She was still here, the red eyed angel of Haven.

He could see why many fell for her game, especially here where many came to forget about the shinobi world. He had heard she provided a certain type of relief, tapping into the desires of her victims and letting a scene play out however they wanted. It was a therapeutic way to use the jutsu, however, it didn't come without costs. It was all hushed whispers that he had kindly persuaded out of the travelers, but it gave some insight into who she was. Some said she took money, others said she took lives. All of them knew her under a different name with a different origin story. Some thought she was an angel, others believed she was as broken as the rest of them.

When the jutsu finally broke, he watched the man stand up, politely bow and walk away from her. She stayed at the table running her finger across the rim of the glass in front of her. Kakashi got up and made his way towards her.

"May I?" he asked quietly and gestured towards the seat. Without even taking glance at him, she nodded and he took a seat across from her. She sat up straight and smiled softly. Her onyx eyes were warm as they made eye contact with him.

"You're not like the others who usually pass through here." Her voice was as soft and warm as the rest of her, and had a velvety touch that made her seem so inviting.

"No, I'm not, and neither are you." She raised an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly up.

Over the course of the next hour they exchanged polite pleasantries, discussed the state of the world, and had a few drinks. Kakashi made no mention of who he was and neither did she. The conversation was light and whenever it dived into a possibly deep road the other steered it to another topic. It wasn't until Kakashi had ordered another round of drinks that she felt comfortable enough to get to the point.

"So, why are you here then?" She asked. "If we are at times of peace, and you are clearly doing fine. Why come to Haven? The home of the broken."

"I came here with a proposal for you." He stated with more seriousness. "A chance to start over." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, when she didn't protest he continued. "You help train a young girl similar to you, in return you get a stable income, housing, and a chance to escape this." He gestured to the now almost empty bar.

"All I have to do is train a girl?" She repeated with slight disbelief. He nodded.

"She's a great student, eager to learn."

"And what exactly am I training her in?" Her voice was much more guarded.

"The sharingan." He said with a smirk. "We will keep your true identity a secret. We'll develop a cohesive story on the way back to present to the village. You won't be a Kunoichi when you are over there. You'll be whoever we decide on. Do we have a deal?" She paused and for a moment Kakashi feared she might reject his offer.

"Why are you doing this?" Her voice was still guarded, but he could see it on her face that she was confused.

"Because if you are who I think you are, this isn't the life you deserve. You father paid the ultimate price already, why should you continue to sacrifice your life too." He tried to be as soothing as he could. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay. We have a deal." She got up out of her chair. "My name is Asuna by the way. I'll meet you at the bridge in an hour."

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A little short but I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review and I will try to update regularly. Thanks for reading! _3 Tyffix_


	2. Chapter 1

A real chapter for the story to end the day! Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read.

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"You're a genjutsu… specialist?" Shikamaru hesitantly asked. His eyes shifted from the woman in front of him to Kakashi, who nodded, and then back to her. She wore simple black pants, a mesh shirt, and a black bra underneath. Her hands were tightly wrapped around her backpack straps and only left when she needed to push her hair back behind her ears. She seemed rather uninterested in the conversation, and primarily looked around the Hokage's office unless she was spoken to directly.

"Yes." She stated flatly. Kakashi cleared his throat and she smiled.

"But you're not a kunoichi?" Sai asked from the other side of Naruto's desk.

"No." Her index fingers let go of the pack when she answered, almost to indicate that there was a catch. This time she sounded slightly more engaged. "I've spent my whole life studying genjutsu, specifically, the application of visual powers. I have no ninja abilities beyond minor taijutsu. Which, I understand, doesn't sound like I could be of much help. However, Kakashi thought I could be helpful with..." She shot a quick glance at the older gentlemen.

"Sarada." He whispered.

"Sarada. In developing her genjutsu side of the sharingan." Shikamaru and Sai both looked at each other then to Naruto, who had been relatively silent since Asuna was introduced to the three of them. "It won't hurt to try. What will hurt is her not nurturing that side of her visual powers. The sharingan is complex and without proper instruction and development of abilities it would be wasted potential." There was a pregnant silence that followed her explanation. The sounds of the Leaf village and a few birds chirping outside of office's windows were the only thing to be heard. Asuna kept a straight face, but focused her gaze on Naruto, as ultimately it was his decision. She was a stranger in this village, asking to train a student she couldn't even remember the name of, in something she claimed to have no ability in. She realized how crazy it sounded when Kakashi proposed it to her on the way back from Haven. However, he insisted it would work. Though in that moment she couldn't deny the tension she felt in the room.

"Do you think this will be beneficial, Kakashi? You're the only one here who can really speak on the matter." Naruto spoke with a tiredness to his voice. From the papers on his desk she could tell this was probably the least important meeting he had to deal with today, yet it still had to get done.

"Like Asuna said, it won't hurt to try. With Sasuke gone most of the time, she could benefit from it. Sarada's eager to learn and Asuna is… willing to teach." Kakashi had kept an even monotone throughout the entire meeting, but the way he emphasized willing was apparent. Asuna couldn't help but stifle a laugh from coming out at the way he said it. Shikamaru smiled understanding what Kakashi was trying to say and the tension in the room seemed to melt a bit. Naruto slammed his hands on his desk and stood up.

"Well then, welcome to the Leaf, Asuna!" He beamed. Asuna let out a small sigh of relief that she didn't know she had been holding in. Even though she could see the exhaustion in him, he still gave her a warm bright welcome, one she hadn't been used to.

"Thank you, Lord Seventh." She smiled more brightly than before. Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, thank you, Naruto. I can only imagine you all are extremely busy. I will get Asuna situated in the village and will introduce her to Sarada tomorrow." Asuna looked back at Kakashi as he spoke, and noticed how the seriousness he had presented earlier was now replaced with a more cheerful demeanor. He seemed very relaxed as they said their goodbyes and made the way for the door and out of the Hokage's office.

By the time they had finished their meeting and Kakashi had shown her the major areas around the village, it had reached late into the afternoon. She was surprised by what she found. It was a beautiful day and no matter where you looked, the village was full of life and happiness. It was very different from Haven, which was crawling with indifference and people rarely interacting beyond a business transaction. The Leaf was certainly more modern than Haven had ever been. She spent most of her life in a desolate place that clung to tradition. It would take some time getting used to living here.

Together they sat in a corner of a fairly crowded cafe. It was a quaint little place with earth tones making it less flashy than the other places. She felt the most comfortable here. She had a small bowl of miso soup and fresh cup of tea in front of her while Kakashi declined to eat anything. Instead, he pulled out a book and read while she ate. A few jonin noticed them when they came in and kept giving them glances. She gave it little attention as it was to be expected.

"Tomorrow we'll head to the training grounds and introduce you to Sarada and her team. They meet early, but I'm assuming you'll have no issues getting up for it." He closed the book and returned his attention to her. Asuna nodded and took a final sip of her tea.

"Where will I be staying? You didn't point out any places when we were doing the grand tour." She said grand tour with an emphasis that made Kakashi smile.

"We'll stop there next. We'll get an apartment in your name and I'll fund it for the time being. I'll leave you some money as well to go get groceries tonight and a few other things if you want." While she didn't like feeling like a damsel in distress, she appreciated his help.

"Thank you." She whispered sincerely, then cleared her throat. "Should I start calling you my sugar daddy or do you prefer a different term?" She was blunt in her response and the comment caught him off guard. If he had been eating or drinking he would've choked. She smiled at his reaction and slid her rather large backpack back on. She got up and headed for the door, ignoring the still slightly stunned shinobi infront of her. Kakashi quickly followed her out of the cafe, with a light pink tint to his cheeks.

The apartments weren't much, it was a standard studio that was part of a highrise. She was grateful it came furnished, even if it was only the basics. Luckily, the one she would be renting was not too high up, but still gave a good view over the village. Kakashi had reminded her what time to meet and placed the money for her on the counter before taking his leave. The sun was starting to set and she took the time to not only scan the layout of the village, but enjoy the view. Asuna unpacked the things she had, grabbed the money, and headed down to where the shops were.

By the time she made it down, the sun had fully set and dusk had settled in. She had to admit, the way the village was lit up at night was charming. She made her way into one of the more cheaper stores that was still open and decided she needed food and one of each basic essentials for now. Finding the essentials was the easy part, the food proposed a different challenge than she had anticipated. In Haven food was essentially what was locally grown, or brought in by travelers. Options were very limited. Here, that clearly wasn't the case. She stood quietly in front of one aisle of food almost mesmerized by all the options.

"Can't pick what to eat?" A voice pulled her from the void she seemed trapped in and she turned to the woman next to her. She had two large orange pigtails and was clearly a kunoichi by her attire.

"No, I guess not." Asuna returned a smile before looking back at all the options in front of her. "I hadn't seen so many options for ramen before, I mean cheese flavor? I don't know if that's genius or disturbing." She looked at the package and scrunched up her nose at the thought. The woman next to her let out a small giggle.

"It's not completely terrible. This one is best if you ask me though." She reached out and grabbed a few boxes of the chicken flavored ramen. "I'm Moegi by the way."

"Asuna." She reached out and grabbed a few of the chicken ramen as well. She was about to thank her for the suggestion when Moegi interjected.

"Are you new in town? I don't think I've seen you around before." The question caught Asuna off guard as she didn't expect the village to have that facial recognition about its inhabitants.

"I am." Together they walked down the aisle. "It's actually my first night in town."

"Enjoying it so far?" Moegi pointed to another item. "This is also a great bento is you're in a hurry." Asuna nodded, picked up the bento then placed it in her basket.

"I am, it's much different from where I am from, but it's nice." She felt extremely awkward engaging in small talk that was about her. Moegi on the other hand didn't seem to mind. She kept making suggestions as they walked and Asuna picked up each item without question.

"A new experience is always a good thing. Hopefully we won't scare you off too much." She said playfully.

"No, everyone's been lovely, and thank you for your suggestions. You've definitely helped me out. I would've been stuck there, probably till the store closed." Asuna tried to mimic the friendly energy Moegi had been giving.

"It's a twenty four hour store. You would've been there an eternity." Moegi winked and proceeded to pay first. "It was really nice meeting you, Asuna. Have a good night." Asuna agreed with her and then proceeded to check out as well.

When she made it home she put everything away, stripped down, and stepped into a warm bath. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes thinking about the people she interacted with today. She had to remind herself that she was playing a role, but as Kakashi had told her, an authentic role. She was to be herself, just not her. However, it was the concept that she was to settle down here and make permanent bonds that scared her. While the role she was playing was not unfamiliar territory, the reality that she would no longer be a one woman show sent a chill down her spine even in the hot water.

Part of her regretted accepting this, that part wanted nothing more than to be back in Haven tricking burnt out shinobi into their wildest fantasies while she cashed in on their distorted realities. The other part of her, the part that accepted this insane proposal from a stranger, kept reminding her that she had been saving for years for nothing. Reminding her that since her mother had passed, she had been wandering aimlessly, completely void of purpose. She had one here. She didn't want to squander it. She slowly lifted herself out of the bath and dried off before making her way onto the fresh sheets and adjusting her head on her one pillow. She set her alarm for an hour before her meeting time with Kakashi and closed her eyes.

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Let me know what you think! Thanks! _Tyffix_


	3. Chapter 2

I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 2

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When Konohamaru woke up that morning he expected it to be a normal day. He and some other jonin had gotten back a few days ago from a mission that took longer than anticipated. While he enjoyed being able to get out of the village and do true shinobi work, he was happy for a break every now and then. Today would represent what a normal day for him looked like. He would go train with his team, get lunch with them, go train by himself, and meet his old teammates for drinks that night. It would be a relatively easy day to end what had been a busy week. 

He soon realized that would not be that case when he saw Kakashi at the spot he was meeting his team.

"Good morning, Konohamaru. We were starting to wonder if anyone was ever going to show."

With a woman at his side.

"I wanted you to meet Asuna before the rest of the team arrived."

A woman who cordially smiled before telling him she would be providing supplemental instruction for his student.

A few thoughts went through Konohamaru's head in that moment. The first wondered if Sarada had requested this. Had he done something wrong? He certainly didn't mean to offend her in any way. The second thought reassured himself that it couldn't have been anything he had done. He didn't play favorites with his students. He had a good relationship with them all. He was an excellent jonin to them. The final thought worried him the most. Certainly she couldn't be being groomed for those kinds of missions. His face cycled from doubt to confusion, and he failed to pay attention to what else was said.

"Isn't she a bit young for that?" He blurted out almost immediately as the thought came to him.

Both Kakashi and Asuna were taken back by his comment and the distress in his voice. It became very apparent to them that he had misjudged what was going on. Asuna couldn't help but let out a little chuckle and Konohamaru looked at her even more perplexed than before. She crossed arms across her chest and locked eyes with him while sporting a subtle smirk. Even though she was shorter than him, the way she looked at him made him feel so small.

"While I appreciate you looking after your student, it has nothing to do with that at all. I'm merely here to help her hone her genjutsu skills, that's it." Her voice was very playful despite what her body language was conveying. Konohamaru nodded and her stance softened a bit. "I'll train with her for about an hour a day each day you all get together, and likely after your time together that way our time doesn't hinder her time as a team. If you're okay with it, I'd like to come and observe her that way I can learn more about her fighting style and strengths."

"That's fine." He began to recollect himself now that he better understood what was going on. "Would it be possible Boruto and Mitsuki would benefit from this as well?" Konohamaru asked, and before Asuna could answer, Kakashi jumped in.

"No. We're more interested in Sarada's sharingan." Konohamaru wanted to ask even more questions based on that response, but before he could the sound of the three genin approaching their location became more apparent. Kakashi took that as his cue to leave. "I'll let you two handle the introductions. I have some other matters to attend to." Asuna rolled her eyes.

"I don't think the hot springs and cheesy romance books are that important." She called out as Kakashi took off. Since Kakashi was the one who brought her here he assumed they had some sort of professional relationship, but the way she spoke to him was beyond the professional lines that most shinobi would cross with a former Hokage, except for maybe his past students and close friends.

"You and Lord Sixth are close." Konohamaru commented quietly. She turned her attention back to him. Her brows furrowed together with an annoyed expression plastered on her face.

"We spent a week traveling together." She spoke almost bitterly. "A week that could've been cut down to a few days if we didn't stop at every bath house and smut filled bookstore he could find." She snapped. Konohamaru laughed nervously, he could tell she wasn't directing that anger at him, but still found the situation as a whole to be horribly awkward. As his team approached with a curious look on their faces, he couldn't help but notice how she straightened up, placed her hands on her hips, and smiled like an academy teacher on their first day. In a way he found it to be kind of cute.

"Who is this, big bro?" Boruto asked.

"This is Asuna, she's here to help train Sarada." He watched Boruto's face drop and Sarada's light up as he spoke.

"How is that fair!" Boruto groaned. "Sarada's getting some cool new teacher, and were stuck with you?"

"Boruto!" He scolded. Konohamaru felt embarrassed having Boruto treat him in such a way in front of a guest. He didn't want to look like he had no control of his squad. As the two of them began to get into it, he failed to notice how the two females had moved away from them. Mitsuki watched the two of them argue for a few minutes before turning to look at Sarada and Asuna.

"They seem like a good pair." Mitsuki mentioned. Boruto and Konohamaru stopped arguing and noticed the two women staying to themselves. They both had rather happy expressions as they spoke. Boruto crossed his arms and muttered what sounded like 'whatever' under his breath. He then yelled to call Sarada over so they could begin training.

Both Asuna and Konohamaru stood off to the side as they watched. It had been a good hour of them standing in relative silence, making a few comments about Sarada's performance here and there. During their brief introduction he realized he didn't get much information about her, but based on her comments she appeared to be knowledgeable. He couldn't tell by her clothing if she was a kunoichi or not. She bore no symbol of the Leaf, but her clothing upon first glance looked breathable and flexible. But black sleeveless crop tops and somewhat baggy dark green cargo pants could be in a shinobi or civilian's wardrobe. However, her hair seemed almost too neatly done, and the light layer of makeup she wore was not standard amongst most kunoichi.

Every now and then he'd watch her face from the corner of his eye, she was heavily analyzing what was going on. Her eyes would narrow when she disagreed with what tactics they used, as if she was trying to understand the rationale for the particular sequence of events. If it appeared she understood why her eyes would soften, if not her onyx pupils would get a distant look in them as if she was back logging it for later when she'd meet with Sarada. Her rosy lips would form into a hard pressed line when Sarada was using the sharingan and her face became unreadable.

"Are you a jonin? I don't think I've seen you around before." He asked. Her concentration never broke from the genin in front of them.

"No. I'm a genjutsu specialist."

"But not a jonin? Are you a chunin with exceptional genjutsu skills?" She peaked his curiosity as he had never heard of a genjutsu specialist before.

"Nope. Not a genin either before you ask." Although her words implied some degree of sass, her tone showed no signs. "Just a girl who knows a lot about genjutsu."

"That's… interesting." He didn't mean for it to come out ask awkwardly as it had, but by the time he had started the sentence it was too late. She raised an eyebrow and turned ever so slightly to give him a look that shot down any further line of questioning. To avoid any further embarrassment he called out to the team to let them know they were free to go. Boruto let out a very excited sigh of relief and Sarada made eye contact with Asuna. Asuna tilted her head to the right and both of them headed off in that direction.

Konohamaru sat across from the two genin staring down at the slightly over cooked burger in his hands. Boruto was explaining to Misuki about a new game he was playing, at this point Sarada would comment on how Boruto should be focusing as much time as he puts into these games into training and Boruto would make a snarky comment back. Mitsuki would sit in between them with a smile on his face as they got into it. He didn't enjoy hearing them bicker, but having his whole team there always felt good. He took another bite of his burger.

"I'm glad I'm not doing an extra hour of training." Boruto said in between bites.

"Why is that? You seemed upset by it earlier." Mitsuki noted.

"Because, everyone else finishes training earlier, that'd be one less hour doing what I want."

"Spending extra time working on your skills isn't a waste of time." Konohamaru added. "When I was growing up-"

"You trained all the time. I know dad says the same thing." Boruto rolled his eyes. "Things are different now."

"There's still danger out there." Konohamaru pushed. "Peace doesn't mean everything is alright. Take the chunin exams for example." Boruto paused and took a sip of his drink.

"I guess." He added softly. The shop's bell rang as the door opened and Konohamaru caught Sarada entering out of the corner of his eye. A trickle of sweat was making its way down her face as she went up to the register to order. She made her way over to them and Mitsuki scooted closer to Boruto in the booth so she could sit down.

"How was training, Sarada?" Mitsuki asked.

"It was harder than I expected." She sounded out of breath as she spoke. "I didn't think genjutsu training would be so tiring. Asuna sensei let me go early since I couldn't go the whole hour." She sounded disappointed in herself. "I rushed over here to see if you all were still here."

"What exactly did you do?" Konohamaru probed. He was curious as to why she was so tired. As her food came out she started to eat before answering.

"She wanted to see how effectively I could activate and deactivate my sharingan. We ran some drills pushing the amount of time I spent with it activated each time." She took a long sip of her drink. "Then we discussed basic principles of genjutsu and how they apply or differ when it comes to the sharingan."

"But you didn't do any fighting?" Boruto asked suspiciously. Sarada shook her head.

"She only knows basic taijutsu, so during our drills we did a few things but it was limited."

"Yeah, glad it wasn't me." Boruto shook his head. Sarada glared at him and the two of them fell back into their normal pattern. Konohamaru smiled and began backing Sarada up, causing more of a rise out of Boruto. It felt a bit more like a regular day now.

When Konohamaru finished his own training, he went home, cleaned up, and set out to meet his friends at a bar. He always felt odd being out of his uniform, but Moegi had insisted they didn't meet as ninjas, but as friends. Though, his outfit of choice was essentially the same thing he wore everyday, minus the vest. Removing his scarf and headband was what really got to him, they had been staples in his wardrobe for as long as he could remember. He felt almost naked without them. However, Moegi had kindly let him know if he showed up with them, she'd choke him with his beloved articles of clothing.

In the past year Moegi had started pushing for them to go out more and do things that weren't related to genin or missions. She had wanted to cultivate their friendships beyond the situation they were placed in when they were younger. He understood why she wanted to do this, after all the basis of the three of them's friendships was that they were once teammates and now jonin captains. She watched the people she looked up to grow up and begin to live lives that didn't revolve around being a ninja. He could tell that part of her longed for that space where she could just be Moegi, not Moegi the kunoichi. He wasn't opposed to it, but most of his life was focused on being a shinobi. He was comfortable being Konohamaru the shinobi, and less comfortable just being Konohamaru.

Moegi had picked a different bar than the normal one they had been going to for them to meet at tonight. When you entered the atmosphere was very calm but still upbeat. All of the lights were beautiful lanterns that covered the ceiling, varying in sizes and colors. There were tables scattered throughout with candles on them and larger booths in the back lining the wall. It had a good amount of people and a diverse crowd. Moegi and Udon sat at one of the tables near the middle and she waved him down as soon as he walked in. They had already ordered him a drink, which he was appreciative of.

The three of them began to talk about their day, all while not relying heavily on the clutch of ninja talk. After a few drinks Moegi mentioned that she was going to be having a few days with more time to herself. Her team was to be working on their specialized jutsu with their family so she wanted to start working on a garden at her house, and Udon mentioned how he would be gone over the next few days on a mission with his team so he wouldn't be able to help. When Konohamaru offered to help her, she teased him that he never would have the time.

"I actually have a little bit more time now, someone is helping train Sarada." He let out almost defensively. His two friends perked up at the comment and gave each other a look of disbelief before looking back at him.

"Someone's helping train Sarada?" Udon's voice slurred in confusion and a tad bit of alcohol.

"Yes, she's a genjutsu specialist. Her name is Asuna." He let out a sigh. "Honestly, I'm a little confused by it too, but Lord Sixth thought it would be a good idea."

"Does she have black hair?" Moegi asked. "About this tall?" She lifted her hand up to indicate her height. Konohamaru nodded. "Oh I know her." A coy smile spread across her face and she took a sip of her drink.

"You do?"

"Okay, I don't." Her smile dropped. "But I did meet her. She's new in town. Seemed pretty nice, and likes the smell of vanilla." When Konohamaru raised an eyebrow, she shrugged. "I helped her with her shopping."

"She made a good impression on Sarada." He sounded hesitant. He paused and the two of them looked at him waiting for the catch. "She's not a kunoichi though, that's the weird part."

"That is a bit off, but hey you have more free time. Enjoy it." Moegi tried to reassure him. He didn't try to fight back and simply agreed with her. "Get to know her, it might make you feel better." Udon tried to order another drink and she quickly shot him down reminding him that he was leaving for a mission tomorrow. Udon slumped onto the table and groaned that he was an adult that could make his own decisions, which Moegi promptly ignored. She turned back to Konohamaru as if Udon was not present. "See if she needs any help getting settled in, or ask her if she wants to talk about Sarada's progress. Don't be weird about it, be friendly and see how it goes. You could even invite her out with us if you don't want to do it one on one."

"Thanks, Moegi. I'll think about it." He smiled and she turned her attention back to Udon. "I'll take him home, don't worry."

"Good. I was not about to drag his ass halfway across the village. You should probably take him now before he gets kicked out." She leaned back in her chair and finished her drink. He knew Udon would never hear the end of it if she had to take him home or if he had gotten kicked out. He patted his friend's back and Udon shooed him away with a limp hand. Konohamaru stood up, and Udon reluctantly got up with him. They said their goodbyes and Konohamaru managed to get him out of the door.

Once he got him outside, Udon latched onto him like a backpack. Jumping from roof to roof he carried his friend back to his apartment, and watched him fumble with the key when they made it back. When he was about to leave he stopped dead in his tracks. He heard Udon mumble a goodbye and close the door behind him. It was moments like this he wished he was a more suave. He had never had a problem talking with women before, but ever since this morning he had only managed to make it awkward with her. Right now was not helping.

"I was just helping him get home." He blurted out. Asuna's eyes darted between him and the door behind him.

"Uh huh." She slowly let out. She looked just as shocked as he was to see her. She began pulling her keys out of a purse she was holding. He noticed in arms was a few books and a bottle of wine.

"You live here." He stated more like a fact than an actual question. She nodded and continued searching for her keys in her purse. It was in that moment he realized he recognized the books she was holding. They were the same books Kakashi notoriously read.

"I do happen to live here." She said as she managed to pull the key out. "I'll see you tomorrow." Her voice almost sounded glad she could end the interaction between them.

"Right. See you tomorrow." He said under his breath as she walked past him. Internally he began beating himself up over the awkwardness. He had no idea why this kept happening. He was determined to do better tomorrow. He was going to have a normal conversation with her, whether she liked it or not.

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Enjoy! _Tyffix_


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